Reviews tagging 'Confinement'
The Fox's Tower and Other Tales: A Collection of Magical Short Stories by Yoon Ha Lee
1 review
emily_mh's review against another edition
4.5
This was a delightful anthology, with overarching themes of duality, unification, and breaking the mould. The stories are so short that they are more like vignettes of different people and places, but I really loved this as it highlighted the author’s range of creativity and powerful worldbuilding. The writing style was lyrical and fairytale-like. There are beautiful illustrations throughout, thought it was difficult trying to understand how they paired with the stories. The following are my individual reviews for all 25 stories. My favourites were The Village and the Embroiderer, The Cursed Piano, and The Youngest Fox.
WARNING: there are minor !!SPOILERS!! in some cases because the stories are really that short that commenting on them is inevitably spoilery.
The Fox’s Tower: I sort of didn’t get it, but I loved the escape queer love provided the prisoner.
The Dragon Festival: this story was exemplary of the author’s ability to conjure a whole world in a matter of sentences.
The Cursed Piano: I LOVED this; the ritual-like lifting of the curse, the representation of the duality of the sea.
The Melancholy Astromancer: I liked the theme of breaking the mould.
The School of the Empty Book: this had a speculative vibe. It was interesting how the school prepared the children to carefully control everything in their lives, yet when they reach 10 they are suddenly out of control of the most important thing.
Moonwander: this was a really cool myth that explained moon phases, and I liked how it flipped the power dynamic of the moon and dogs on its head.
Sand and Sea: I loved the moral that instead of thinking your thing is the best, you should delight in the things of others, too. The sisters did not have to be so separate as sand and sea.
The Pale Queen’s Sister: a well-done classic fable-style story.
The Sunlit Horse: so whimsical and dreamlike. I loved how peaceful this was and the gentle parenting of the sorcerer.
Tiger Wives: I liked the cleverness of the fact that the queen wanted to change her nature but couldn’t BECAUSE of her nature. Her “strength” was her weakness.
The Rose and the Peacock: a little random, although I do understand the continuation of the broader theme of unification.
The Youngest Fox: I loved the idea of the MC doing things differently from her family and it working for her, and I loved that her family was so loving and supportive throughout.
The Godsforge: another great fable, a little simpler than The Pale Queen’s Sister.
The Witch and the Traveler: a little random again, but I enjoyed the fact that what seemed like important political diplomacy took place over a simple meal in a cottage.
A Single Pebble: a sweet fable about gratitude. Not the strongest, but by no means bad!
Two Bakeries: a thought-provoking story. Does it mean there will always be a place for hunger even when there are riches? Or that fortune is temporary? Or that there is a place for both the simple and the extravagant?
The Virtues of Magpies: this was a simple and amusing story.
The Stone-Hearted Soldier: I liked the messaging of this one, that whatever is done to you, your heart remains whole and in your control.
The Mermaid’s Teeth: an incredibly creepy short tale, almost like the author is describing a painting.
The Fox’s Forest: a sweet and simple romance. I honestly could see this (and many of these stories) expanded as full novels.
The Village and the Embroiderer: embroidery magic!!! I loved this!! I’ve recently wanted to read/write a story with embroidery magic, and this was excellent. So imaginative!
The Tenth Sword: this one had such a clever ending.
The Sorcery of the Veil: this continued the broader theme of duality in an interesting way.
The Leafless Forest: this was really beautiful, like a poem come to life.
The Last Angel: there was something so comforting about this story; I think it was the quiet dedication and patience of the MC.
Content Warnings
Minor: Grief, Animal death, War, Death, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Cannibalism, Confinement, and Murder
Minor: hurricane, missing loved one, imprisonment, loss of a loved one
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